This invention relates to apparatus used in connection with surgical procedures. More particularly it relates to improved surgical drapes for absorbing and/or containing fluid runoff from the site of surgical procedure.
In the course of performing surgery, large drapes are commonly used to cover a major portion of the patient. The drape normally includes a hole therein which provides access to the site of surgical procedure. Surgical drapes perform the dual function of maintaining a sterile field about the surgical procedure site and also absorbing and containing fluid runoff which normally occurs at the site of the procedure. It is undesirable for bodily fluids which leave the site of surgical procedure to fall on the floor of the operating room for reasons of sterility and appearance, and because the fluids may be tracked out of the room and the floor is made slippery. The problem has become more acute with the advent of the AIDS virus.
There have been recent improvements in surgical drapes to deal with the problem of spillage of bodily fluids onto the floor. Several of these improvements are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,791,382, and 4,378,794, both assigned to the Kendall Corporation. The Kendall patents provide for the use of pockets which are attached to the drape for catching the fluid as it runs off the drape. One of the drawbacks to the Kendall drapes is that it is rather expensive to manufacture since a pocket must be added. Furthermore, the entire Kendall drape is made of a thick material which also adds to the expense.
Other prior art surgical drapes are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,524,767, 4,316,456, 4,336,797, and 3,926,185.
In the early 1970s a change from reusable linen to disposable surgical drapes began. Today the vast majority of surgical drapes are disposable. They provide not only cost saving factors to a hospital but also help in operating room technique and improve infection control.
Many of the small surgical drapes such as underbuttocks drapes, half sheets, three quarter sheets, and small procedure drapes have been automated with price reductions passed to the medical market.
The large procedure drapes are still made by hand labor operations and have not shown corresponding price reductions as the automated drapes have. It is therefore desirable to automatically produce disposable large procedure drapes which provide better control of bodily fluids.